Crossroads of Freedom: AntietamOxford University Press, 2002 M09 12 - 224 páginas The Battle of Antietam, fought on September 17, 1862, was the bloodiest single day in American history, with more than 6,000 soldiers killed--four times the number lost on D-Day, and twice the number killed in the September 11th terrorist attacks. In Crossroads of Freedom, America's most eminent Civil War historian, James M. McPherson, paints a masterful account of this pivotal battle, the events that led up to it, and its aftermath. As McPherson shows, by September 1862 the survival of the United States was in doubt. The Union had suffered a string of defeats, and Robert E. Lee's army was in Maryland, poised to threaten Washington. The British government was openly talking of recognizing the Confederacy and brokering a peace between North and South. Northern armies and voters were demoralized. And Lincoln had shelved his proposed edict of emancipation months before, waiting for a victory that had not come--that some thought would never come. Both Confederate and Union troops knew the war was at a crossroads, that they were marching toward a decisive battle. It came along the ridges and in the woods and cornfields between Antietam Creek and the Potomac River. Valor, misjudgment, and astonishing coincidence all played a role in the outcome. McPherson vividly describes a day of savage fighting in locales that became forever famous--The Cornfield, the Dunkard Church, the West Woods, and Bloody Lane. Lee's battered army escaped to fight another day, but Antietam was a critical victory for the Union. It restored morale in the North and kept Lincoln's party in control of Congress. It crushed Confederate hopes of British intervention. And it freed Lincoln to deliver the Emancipation Proclamation, which instantly changed the character of the war. McPherson brilliantly weaves these strands of diplomatic, political, and military history into a compact, swift-moving narrative that shows why America's bloodiest day is, indeed, a turning point in our history. |
Dentro del libro
Resultados 1-5 de 37
Página xvi
... seemed to foretell imminent defeat of the Confederacy and restoration of “the Union as it was”—a Union with slavery. But Southern counteroffensives in the summer of 1862 reversed the momentum of war and by September of that year brought ...
... seemed to foretell imminent defeat of the Confederacy and restoration of “the Union as it was”—a Union with slavery. But Southern counteroffensives in the summer of 1862 reversed the momentum of war and by September of that year brought ...
Página 4
... seemed, as I rode along, that it was the Valley of Death. I think that in the space of less than ten acres, lay the bodies of a thousand dead men and as many more wounded.” An enlisted man in this regiment who had captured a Confederate ...
... seemed, as I rode along, that it was the Valley of Death. I think that in the space of less than ten acres, lay the bodies of a thousand dead men and as many more wounded.” An enlisted man in this regiment who had captured a Confederate ...
Página 12
... seemed unable to win, the Lincoln administration could not risk a second one. The day after Christmas 1861 the U.S. government released Mason and Slidell, thereby averting war but also producing a feeling of letdown and shame in the ...
... seemed unable to win, the Lincoln administration could not risk a second one. The day after Christmas 1861 the U.S. government released Mason and Slidell, thereby averting war but also producing a feeling of letdown and shame in the ...
Página 13
... idea how the men brighten up now when I go among them,” he wrote to his wife. “I never heard such yelling. ... I can see every eyeglisten.”1 McClellan seemed to be just what the North needed after the. 13 The Pendulum of War, 1861–1862.
... idea how the men brighten up now when I go among them,” he wrote to his wife. “I never heard such yelling. ... I can see every eyeglisten.”1 McClellan seemed to be just what the North needed after the. 13 The Pendulum of War, 1861–1862.
Página 14
Antietam James M. McPherson. seemed to be just what the North needed after the dispiriting defeat at Bull Run. When the aged, ailing Winfield Scott stepped down as general in chief on November 1, 1861, McClellan took over that post as ...
Antietam James M. McPherson. seemed to be just what the North needed after the dispiriting defeat at Bull Run. When the aged, ailing Winfield Scott stepped down as general in chief on November 1, 1861, McClellan took over that post as ...
Contenido
3 | |
11 | |
JuneJuly 1862 | 41 |
3 The Federals Got a Very Complete Smashing AugustSeptember 1862 | 73 |
4 Showdown at Sharpsburg | 97 |
5 The Beginning of the End | 133 |
NOTES | 157 |
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY | 185 |
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS | 191 |
INDEX | 193 |
Otras ediciones - Ver todas
Términos y frases comunes
action Adams American Antietam army attack August battle Battlefield believed Britain British called Campaign cause cavalry Charles Civil Civil War commander Confederacy Confederate Congress Corps defeat defend Democrats Diary Dispatch division emancipation enemy entry fall fight fire force Foreign fought Francis freedom George Halleck Harpers Ferry Henry Hill hope issue Jackson James John Jones July June Kentucky later Lee’s Letters Library Lincoln lines look March Maryland Mason McClellan miles military months move never newspapers night North Northern notes officers orders Pope position Potomac president Proclamation quoted rebels recognition regiments reported Republicans retreat Richmond River Robert Second Secretary seemed Sept September Sharpsburg slavery slaves soldiers South Southern success took troops turn Union United victory Virginia vols Washington weeks whole wife World wounded wrote York